Fire-escape



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1. A. TURNBULL.

FIRE ESCAPE.

Patented Apr. 8, 1884a N PIITEUS, PholoJiIhugmp/hcr. Washivlglun.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets8heef. 2. A. TURNBULL.

FIRE ESCAPE.

Patented Apr. 8, 1884.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Fries.

ANDREW TURNBULL, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT.

Fl RE-ESCA PE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 296,650. dated April 8, 1884:.

- Application filed April 16, 1883. (No model.)

To all, whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ANDREW TURNBULL, a citizen of the United States, residing at-New Britain, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes, of

which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in fire'escapes of the class which afford a frictional device for sliding down upon a rope; and the objects of myinvention are to furnish a convenient means for detaching the rope from the frictional pins for drawing it back again for use the second time; to enable the device to be made so cheaply that one can be furnished for every room of a hotel, and to make the device of such a compact form that commercial or other travelers can conveniently carry the same with them in an ordinary valise. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which" Figure 1 is a front elevation of my fire-escape and harness. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a partial vertical section and elevation of the fire-escape without the harness. Fig. 4. is a partial horizontal section on line :0 a", Fig. 3, with the parts below said line shown in elevation; and Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the harness and its hooks.

A designates a plate, which forms the main portion of the frame, and is provided at each end with a lug, a, which lugs have an orifice through them for the passage of the rope B. Between the lugs o a are two frictional hooks, b, which hooks are set far enough apart to defleet the rope as it passes around their outside into a zigzag form, as shown in Fig. 1. They are also far enough apart so that when the rope is not placed over the outside of these hooks it may pass in a straight line between them and without being cramped by them.

At the lower end of the frame A, I hinge the grasping-handle C, said handle being divided into two parts, with a longitudinal groove upon the inside'of each part, the form of said groove in the cross-section being preferably rectangular, as shown at Fig. 4. At the lower end of the handle, in one part thereof, I form the projecting bridge 0, having an orifice through it for the rope B, so that Upon the back side of the frame A is a suitable staple, d, into which the harness-hooks are secured. The hook D is directly secured to this staple, and when so secured it is designed. to have its eye 6, which hooks into said staple, closed so that the hook will be permanently attached thereto. This hook is also provided with an eye for receiving the end of the harness-strap E, and with another eye, 9, which is designed to receive the snaphook P, which is secured to the opposite end of the strap E. The back-strap G is secured to the strap E, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and these two straps constitute the harness.

A suitable spool is intended to be provided upon which to wind the major portion of the rope. W'hen fitted for use, the rope passes through the eye in the bridge 0 of the handle 0, and lengthwise -up through said handle,

through both of the lugs a, and over the outer hooked sides of the frictional hooks b. These parts will of course be formed with a smooth surface, so as not to tear or cut the rope.

When it is desired to use this escape, the upper end of the rope willbe securely fastened at any convenient point to the building, and preferably above the window at which the escapeis intended to be made. The instrument will be drawn up close to the upper end of this rope and set with the rope over the pins or hooks b b. The occupant will then seat himself upon the strap E, with the strap G around his back, and after he is so harnessed he will hook the snap-hook F into the eye 9. The spool containing the body of the rope will be flung from the window upon the ground below, and when all is ready the occupant will grasp the handle 0 with onehand and pinch the rope just enough to keep it taut as it passes over the pins or hooks b b, and by giving the handle a greater or less pressure the descent can be made as slow or as rapid as may be desired. After one occupant has escaped in this manner, if there is another person in the building who wishes to escape by the use of the same instrument, he will take hold of the rope and draw it up hand over hand to bring the frictional device up to him. He will then loosen the rope slightly and slip it off from the hooks or pins b,so that it will pass in a straight line between them. The device can then be rapidly and quickly slipped again to the upper end of the rope, the rope again thrown out of the window, and the instrument can be used as before, and so on repeatedly, as many times as may be desired.

, A sufficient friction may be created upon the device, so that one person may be seated in the harness and take another person in one arm an d make a safe descent. WVhen a person is seated in this harness, the meeting ends of the strap E are in front of him, so that he cannot fall forward, and the back-strap will prevent him from falling backward even though he should from any cause faint or become in sensible. In such an event, if the handle 0 were not grasped by the occupant, the descent will be rapid. unless other aid is called. if, however, any one should be on the ground, he can take hold of the end of the rope, and by pulling it so as to hold it more or less taut the descent can be slow or rapid, as may be desired, although the occupant is helpless and does not touch the handle.

In Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings the parts are represented upon a larger scale than in, Fig. 3, and in Fig. 3 they are represented upon a larger scale than in Figs. 1 and 2.

I am aware that prior patents show various forms of frictional devices for sliding down upon a rope, and some of which are provided with a graspinghandle for regulating the tension of the rope, and therefore I disclaim the same.

Although I have shown the handle 0, and it is very desirable so as to save burning or blistering ones hands, it is not absolutely essential to the rest of the device, as the rope may be grasped by the bare hand, or with a piece of leather or other protection, and the device then successfully operated.

I claim as my invention-- 1. In a frictional device for a fire-escape, a suitable frame bearing lugs at each end, with an orifice through said lugs for the passage of the rope, and between said lugs and out of alignment therewith hooked frictional pins which are left unobstructed at their outer ends, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

2. A frictional fire-escape consisting of the plate A, lugs ac, having each an orifice through them, and the outwardly-curved hooked lugs Z) I), which project forward from near the side edges of the plate, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

lugs a a and b b, and the divided handle, both parts of which are hinged to the lower end of said plate, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

4. The combination of a frictional rope-de fleeting device and the divided handle, both parts of which are hinged thereto by means of suitable pintles, and provided with the rectangular groove, while one part has the eyebridge at its lower end, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

ANDREW TURNBULL.

WVitnesses: J AMES SHEPARD, MARTIN A. Pom).

a. The combination of the plate A, bearing 

